JUDY NEWMAN at Scholastic
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  • Book Boys
  • Book Talks
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  • Cooked Up From A Book
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  • Life of a Reader
  • Book Boys
  • Book Talks
  • Behind The Scenes
  • Cooked Up From A Book
  • SRC
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Life of a Reader

An Apeeling  Book with a Spudtacular Message

by Judy Newman with Cristy Bertini and Alana Pedalino

LOAR-Potato-Pants-Hero

Sometimes I like to daydream while wandering around the grocery store, which is probably because I don’t have to do much thinking about anything else besides which items I need to buy for dinner.

On this particular day, I was in the produce section looking at all the colorful fruits and vegetables.

I couldn’t help but imagine what kinds of clothes the fruits and vegetables put on when the employees head home for the night and they head over to the dairy disco or bakery barn dance.

Zucchinis in bikinis. Bananas in pajamas. A grape in a cape or green beans in skinny jeans. I could imagine an ear of corn wearing a husk tuxedo, lettuce in dresses, a habanero in a sombrero, or even a little pear running around in his underwear.

This got me thinking about the laugh-out-loud picture book Potato Pants! by Laurie Keller. Potato is so excited about a one-day-only sale at Lance Vance’s Fancy Pants Store. Even though Potato makes it to the store on time, his eggplant nemesis stops him from buying a brand-new set of trousers. But what kind of pants do potatoes wear? According to our spudtacular Scholastic Book Clubs Book of the Week, the possibilities are endless.

LOAR-Potato-Pants-Image1

Potato rushes to the store early, but his enthusiasm quickly deflates when he sees Eggplant, who knocked him down the day before. Believing Eggplant to be a big bully, Potato is too afraid to go into the store and thinks he missed his chance for a new pair of pants.

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What People Are Saying

“A high-energy read with plenty of kid appeal.” —Kirkus Reviews

“There’s plenty of silly illustrations and attractive potato pants to keep chuckling readers turning pages to the end.” —The New York Times

“A manic tale that’s going to be very hard to read without inducing ‘peels’ of laughter.” —Booklist

Beyond being a fun read-aloud, this book also brings up those universal feelings of childhood anxiety. The story highlights what can happen when you make a snap judgment before you have all the facts. Potato and Eggplant help children realize that everyone makes mistakes and it’s never too late to say you’re sorry.

David Vozar got an early lesson in alterations…

LOAR-Potato-Pants-Image-DV Illustrated by David Vozar.

Any way you slice it, Potato Pants! is a perfect recipe for a social-emotional classroom discussion about misunderstandings, forgiveness, and friendship.

We’ve created some teacher-approved resources to help you share Potato Pants! with your students:

• Watch the Book Girls in a classroom-friendly video.

• Learn how a teacher uses the Book of the Week in her classroom in Book Talks

• Read an exclusive interview with author Laurie Keller in Behind the Scenes

• Download a printable story-elements organizer activity to accompany Potato Pants! in Cooked Up from a Book

I hope your students love reading Potato Pants! and that they learn this lesson: Don’t judge a book by its cover, and don’t judge a potato by its pants. And next time you’re at the grocery store, keep your eyes peeled for squashes in galoshes!

Happy reading!

XX,

Judy

 

This Book Is Available from Scholastic Book Clubs

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Potato Pants!
by Laurie Keller
Funny Picture Book About Misunderstandings and Forgiveness

SEE DETAILS

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Laurie Keller,Picture Book,Potato Pants
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A Note from Judy

Summer is finally here! Thank you, teachers and parents, for a fantastic 2021–2022 school year full of reading, learning, and fun. And the best part? The joys of reading don’t have to stop now!

Encourage your students to keep their minds and imaginations active through summer reading! Visit the Summer Boutique to discover many exciting and engaging books for all reading levels and interests. There’s sure to be a story that will catch every student’s attention.

We can’t wait to see you again next fall with a whole new lineup of Books of the Week and free resources for your class!

Judy Newman

President and Reader in Chief
Scholastic Book Clubs

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